I hoped it remained that way. I knew very little about Maia, having not met her outside of my coronation, but Ash must’ve felt some level of trust to go to her to have his kardia removed.

Aios tipped her knees toward me. “By the way, how are you handling everything?”

“Other than not coming to terms with what I am?”

Aios laughed lightly. “Yes. Other than that.”

“I’m fine. Perfect, really.” I dropped my hand to the arm of the couch. “And regarding the whole Ascending-as-the-true-Primal-of-Life part, I really haven’t had much time to think about that. But I’m good.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.” She drew her lower lip between her teeth. “I didn’t expect you to Ascend as the true Primal of Life.”

“Yeah, well, neither did I since it should have been impossible.”

“Apparently, it wasn’t,” she remarked dryly.

I cracked a grin. “You know the plan was for him to take the embers and Ascend, but the embers had sorta melded with me—became a part of me. I wouldn’t have survived them being removed. Ash knew that and refused to take the embers.” My voice thickened, and I swallowed. “He didn’t know what would happen if he Ascended me. All he knew was that he couldn’t let me die, no matter the risks. It wasn’t until afterward that we realized we were heartmates.”

“That is almost more shocking than your Ascension.” Awe filled Aios’s voice. “Such a union of hearts and souls is so rare that I suspect even Maia would be stunned.”

I nodded, thinking about my parents. “You know, I always wondered if my mother and father were heartmates. Even as a child, when I wasn’t entirely sure such a thing was real. Because my mother never seemed to get over my father’s death, even though she remarried. She was always sad, even when she was happy.”

“They do say that mates of the heart are linked to create something new or usher in a great change.” Aios crossed her ankles. “They could’ve been destined to bring you into the world, and you…you are the definition of a great change.”

But wouldn’t that have meant the Fates—the Ancients—had seen everything? The intuition didn’t kick in, but I did remember the unexpected thread of fate Holland had spoken of. The one that had broken off while all the others ended in my death.

“Sera?” Aios said softly.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I focused on her. Aios’s smile remained but it had changed. The curve of her lips was now forced. Almost brittle.

“When I asked how you were doing,” she said, her gaze flickering over my features, “I wasn’t just asking about how you were handling the Ascension.”

Every muscle in my body tensed.

A too-long moment passed. “Is it true that…that Kolis believed you to be Sotoria for some time?”

My insides chilled. “How did you know that?” The answer came to me. “Attes.”

She gave me a somewhat sheepish nod. “When he came by, we…well, to be honest, we bombarded him with questions. He didn’t give us a lot of detail,” she added quickly. “When Nyktos returned with you, and you were in stasis, there wasn’t a chance to ask him anything. Not that anyone tried. We knew he wouldn’t leave your side.” She took a breath. “But no one knew what had happened. Only what we’d heard.”

Blood pounded in my ears. “Like what?”

“It was said that you were seen sitting beside Kolis at court,” she said. “But when Rhain and others saw you, you were…” She briefly closed her eyes. “You were not free to move about.”

I’d been caged. Just as she had. “I was never free to move about. Kolis brought me to court and put me on display,” I stated flatly. “Part of the reason was that he knew it would get back to others.”

“None of us believed you wanted to be there. None of us,” she insisted. “It just made us worry more.”

I was holding myself completely still. “What else did you hear?”

“There were whispers that you’d attempted to escape, and we heard that Kolis claimed he hadn’t given you and Nyktos permission for the coronation.”

Kolis had lied. So had Kyn, who’d witnessed him giving us permission.

“Then only what Rhain said,” she continued, and my stomach twisted sharply.

Rhain hadn’t told anyone that I’d struck a deal with Kolis in exchange for his freedom. And while he’d been unconscious for the details of the deal, it took no leap of logic to guess what he believed I’d offered.

And I had offered anything Kolis wanted for Rhain’s life. Kolis’s voice intruded as pressure clamped down on my chest. Then, tonight, we will share the same bed.

What if Rhain’s silence had changed?

“And what did he say?” I heard myself ask.

“He said that you convinced Kolis that freeing him was the best way to handle the situation.” Her fingers went to the chain again—the very same necklace Rhain had used as a token to communicate with Aios. I’d pretended it was mine. “But I…”

“What?”

She was quiet for several moments. “I just know that your time in Dalos couldn’t have been easy.”

Feeling my chest tighten, I focused on the mess of clothing as I breathed in. I really didn’t see the clothes, though. I saw jeweled, gold-plated chests. Pressing my lips together, I ignored the sting of my fangs scraping the inside of my lips. Hold.

“I know,” she repeated.

Gods, she did. Unfortunately, she had ended up as one of Kolis’s favorites. I knew now, without a doubt, that her suspicion that it had been because of her hair color was correct. Breathe out.

“And I just wanted to say that I don’t need to know what may have occurred to know that I’m so sorry for whatever you experienced.”

“Thank you.” Breathe in. My fingers dug into the arm of the couch as I made myself meet her gaze. Hold. “With some help, I was able to convince Kolis that I was Sotoria. Because of that, I…I got lucky.”

“Lucky?” she repeated. “Compared to who?”

My ribs felt like they were too small. “To all those not sitting here who are free of Kolis.”

Aios’s mouth opened and then closed. “Very true.” Her fingers continued dancing over the chain. “But I know the whole time I was held and made to listen to him, he only ever spoke about her.”

Her.

Sotoria.

Fucking obsessive creep.

My breathing exercises belly-flopped out the window.

“So, I also know that my luck traveled further.”

Kolis had never touched any of his past favorites. That wasn’t the case for me. My chest shrank until it felt as small as a thimble.

Aios fixed another pained smile on her face. “I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need to talk, I’m here. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said, knowing my smile was as wrong as hers. “I appreciate that. I do. But what happened when I was there? It was nothing.”

Aios was speaking. Her lips were moving, but all I heard was “it was nothing” echoing over and over. But it was in Veses’ voice. The Primal bitch of Rites and Prosperity had said the same thing in response to what Kolis had done to her. And as much as I hated her for what she’d done to Ash, it hadn’t been nothing. What had been done to me wasn’t—

Panic blossomed, and while it didn’t stir the embers, it did loosen my tongue. “When you were held?” I cut Aios off. “Were there chests in the cage he kept you in?”

Aios went quiet.

I turned my head toward her, knowing her silence was my answer. “I saw what was in them. I know what he had his favorites do with them. So, I don’t think your luck could’ve traveled much further than mine.”

Aios blanched, sucking in a sharp breath.

Guilt seized me immediately. “I shouldn’t have brought that up. I’m—”

“Don’t apologize,” she interrupted, eather pulsing brightly in her eyes.

“But I think I need to.”

“No, you do not.” She leaned in until our faces were inches apart. “I get it, Sera. More than anyone here. Maybe more than even Nyktos. I get it. The anger. The fear. The fucking awkwardness,” she said. At any other time, I would’ve giggled at hearing her curse, but not now. Never now. “The helplessness and the godsdamn choking shame. I know how all that feels. How all those feelings become something worse than any act committed against you.” Streaks of eather darted across her irises. “Because that anger, the fear and awkwardness, the helplessness and shame, they get into you. Into your very marrow. And it’s hard to claw them back out.”